Petr Yan open to featherweight but won't fight "my friend" Alex Volkanovski

Yan faces Merab Dvalishvili for the bantamweight title at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi on 24 October, on the same card as Volkanovski's featherweight title defence against Movsar Evloev.

By Combat Sports UK Staff · Published Thu 8 Oct, 05:20 UK · AI-assisted reporting

Petr Yan lands on Merab Dvalishvili in their 2025 rematch — Photo: Sherdog

Petr Yan, the UFC bantamweight champion, says a move up to featherweight "sounds interesting" for the future, but the man who holds that title is a friend.

Asked by Full Violence whether he would rather defend his bantamweight title against flyweight champion Joshua Van moving up, or chase "double champ status" himself, Yan said: "If someone's gonna move up and challenge me, you know, it's maybe a question for them, not for me. But, uh, personally, for myself, moving up, it sounds interesting, too, some way in the future, yeah."

He added: "Just 145 champ is my friend, Alex Volkanovski, so I don't want to beat him up," Yan said.

Both men defend their titles on the same card. Yan, 20-5, faces Merab Dvalishvili for the third time at UFC 333 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Saturday 24 October, having taken the title from him in December 2025. Volkanovski defends the featherweight title against the unbeaten Movsar Evloev in the main event. The event starts at 5pm UK time: UFC 333 start times and card.

Van, the man in the question, won the flyweight title by beating Alexandre Pantoja on a unanimous decision at UFC 331 last month: UFC 331 results.